The Nearest and Dearest of Friends
by Kat Lee formerly Pirate Turner
Summary: Octavius and Jedediah ponder the greatest question and power of mankind: love.  Slash.


Title: "The Nearest and Dearest of Friends"  
>Author: Pirate Turner<br>Rating: G  
>Summary: Octavius and Jedediah ponder the greatest question and power of mankind: love.<br>Warnings: Slash  
>Word Count: 2,175<br>Date Written: 20 April, 2011  
>Challenge: This was written for the DiteysBlessings LJ comm.<br>Disclaimer: Octavius, Jedediah, all other recognizable characters mentioned wtihin, and Night at the Museum are & TM their rightful owners, none of whom are the author; are used without permission; and may not be used without permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Was this what love was like? Octavius wondered, awakening and stretching with a smile upon his face and his dark eyes sparkling with the memories of the previous night running through his mind. He had gone to rest at sunrise with Jedediah filling his mind, and now here he was again, awakening with thoughts of the same man, his best friend and the most handsome man he'd ever known, once more filling his mind. He leapt agilely to his feet and set off racing against time, eager to be reunited with Jedediah once more and spend the whole night, from dusk to dawn, with him again.

* * *

><p>Jedediah awoke with a grunt. He'd been dreaming of Octie again, and he almost hated for those dreams to end. He would have gone back to sleep if the reality of his life had not been almost as good as his dream world, but Octavius was waiting for him and that thought had him pushing immediately to his feet; grabbing his hat; plopping it onto his shaggy, blonde head; and heading out to meet the night and the man who made every one of their adventures, no matter how harrowing or trying, completely worth his while.<p>

Jedediah wished he had a horse so that he could mount up and get to his friend even faster, but instead he sprinted forward through the workers beginning to mill about his little town. It had only been a few months ago that his sole thought had been pursuing the railroad, but now he had something far more interesting and exciting to pursue. He had Octavius!

Jed knew he had it bad for the Roman General, but he also knew that he could never reveal his true feelings to his dearest friend. Octie's every touch made Jed sweat bullets and tremble inside with such excitement that he was like a newborn colt, and his every look made his heartbeat skip and then quicken until it pounded like thunder in his head. He knew he wasn't supposed to feel this way about another man, but yet Jed couldn't help it - and he didn't really care to try to turn away from his true feelings, even if he could never confess them to the man who caused them.

Jedediah had been alone all his life. He didn't know if the real Jedediah had been or not; he didn't have very many memories from that time save of the war and pursuing the railroad. Oh, he'd known some interesting folks all right, but nobody who had deigned a true note in his memory, nobody who made him look over his shoulder twice, nobody who made him look forward to every night, and every fight, like Octavius did.

He went to sleep every morning with Octavius on his mind, and the Roman was always his first thought when he awoke at night. He couldn't wait to be with him again and to see what the new night held in store for them. It didn't matter if they were playing with Rexie, fighting evil, dancing the night away, or just, as they did on the rare occasion, sitting and talking about their pasts and what little dreams they held for the future. He enjoyed being with Octavius no matter what they were doing and would have rather stood on his head in quicksand, as long as he was with Octavius, than be anywhere but at his love's side.

Jedediah never said much about his dreams any more although he did like to listen to Octie's ideas of conquest. He'd once had such grand schemes for his people himself, but now he spent increasingly less time in his town and far more time gallivanting through the museum with Octavius and, often, Rexie. He cherished his friendship with Octavius and their time together more than he had ever cared for anything else, and when he looked to the future these nights, Jed only saw one thing. He saw himself with Octavius, and he knew that nothing else mattered.

He was in love with him, and as long as he was able to be with his love, the world was a whooping, grand place. His smile filled his face and made his blue eyes sparkle with excitement as he caught sight of the man who filled his every thought and dream, and he jumped forward to meet him.

* * *

><p>"Jedediah!" Octavius breathed, relishing the taste of his dearest friend's name upon his imperial tongue as he met him. He ached to throw his arms around him and hold him close; his whole body screamed with his burning need to feel him against him. Yet Octavius only held out his hand, knowing that Jed would pull away if he tried to hug him without there being an obvious reason to celebrate for real men did not hug.<p>

"Real men" was a phrase he had picked up since being around Larry and the night guards before him, but to Octavius it simply meant a real warrior, a man who was worthy of the term. Warriors were allowed to show their emotions on occasion, but they were to remain stoic and serious the majority of the time. Despite himself and his efforts to maintain that true warrior's appearance, Octavius' lips twisted into a grin. He had found months ago that he could not remain serious around Jedediah, and even when they had been on opposing sides, there had still been times when Octavius had found it extremely difficult to keep from cracking a smile.

Jedediah grasped Octavius' hand and shook it firmly; Octavius went willingly, his heartbeat pounding like the drums of war, as Jed pulled him into a partial, one-armed hug. Their faces came to within an inch of each other, and for a scant moment, they gazed into one another's eyes. Jedediah's blue eyes were akin to two of the most limpid and crystal clear pools that Octavius had ever seen, and they were completely open to him. A shiver raced down his spine as he realized that Jedediah also looked forward to these meetings as much as he did. The whole world seemed to melt apart from around them, and for a moment that could never last long enough, it was as though, to the two tiny men whose hearts were each bigger than the whole world, they were the only two beings in all of existence.

"What're we . . . " Jed paused, his query dying in his suddenly dry throat; he licked his chapped lips. Octavius was so close! His handsome, smiling face filled his vision, and for one, sweet moment, Jed thought that he might actually be able to lean forward and capture those royal, plump lips with his own. There wasn't a night or day that went by that Jedediah did not ponder what it would be like to taste Octavius' supple honey, how it would feel and make his heart glow with splendor to actually be able to take the man he loved into his arms and never let him go.

Yet the cowboy knew that the Roman General would never accept the thoughts that ran rampant through his mind and whipped through his being with the same burning ferocity as a rattlesnake's snapping tail and the same desperate, clawing need as though seeking a cure for that snake's venom after being bitten. He had been bitten, Jed knew. He'd been bitten hard by the lovebug, and the only cure there was for that bug was right in front of him and yet impossible to achieve.

He couldn't kiss Octavius. He couldn't let him know how he really felt for surely his love would turn away from him in disgust; toss his proud, Roman head high into the air; and stalk off. If he even for one second thought that what Jedediah felt for him was far stronger than mere friendship, he'd walk out of his world, or at least go as far as he could away from him, and never even look at him again without disgust and hatred in his eyes.

Jed couldn't bare the thought of his Octie looking at him like that; he couldn't lose the truest friend he ever had. There was only one recourse for protecting their relationship, such as it was, and their time together, and Jed would do whatever he had to to keep Octavius in his life even if it meant crushing his own heart in the process. As though from a distance, he heard Rexie roaring with his impatience to get the night going, and he forced himself, his heart thundering in his ears so loudly that he could scarcely hear the dinosaur's anxious cries, to pull away from the man he loved and smile innocently as though nothing had ever happened.

He should snatch him back to him, was Octavius' first thought, but then he reminded himself that Jedediah was doing the right thing, even if the look in his beautiful, blue eyes had clearly told him that he'd rather be shot than to have to shatter the moment they'd just shared. "I . . . " He was winded, and yet he had not moved. His whole body hurt from Jed's pulling away. He burned within as every ounce of his body, heart, and soul screamed at him to reach out, grab his cowboy, and kiss him as though the moon would never rise again. "I . . . " he tried again, fumbling with his toga, but once more, his words failed him.

"We . . . " Jed licked his lips and looked nervously around them. "We should go."

Octavius nodded, and they fell silently into step beside each other. They took their time as they went to their little car that awaited them and opened their doors. It went unspoken that Jedediah should drive, but before he slipped into the driver seat, he looked again at Octavius and found him gazing right back at him. Sweet mercy, how he loved this man! His knees went weak; his palms sweated inside his thick, brown gloves. He wanted to cry from his need to be with him and holler and whoop in celebration of just being with him and loving him, even if that love would never be returned to him, all at the same time. He smiled, and Octavius smiled broadly right back at him.

Yes, the Roman acknowledged silently, this was how love felt. What he felt for Jedediah - his constant need to protect him from any foolish enemy who dared to raise his ugly head, the quickening of his breath and pounding of his valiant heart every time Jedediah was near or even just looked his way, his burning desire to be with him every second of every night, his secret longing to curl up beside him during the day, and his constant dreams of victory no longer for his people but rather now for he himself to be with his love, feast upon his love's gloriousness, and let that love shine not only for his secret beloved Jedediah but for all the world to see in its entire splendor - Yes, Octavius knew, that was love, and he was madly, desperately, truly, and completely in love with the man across from him, the man who was dearer to him than anything or one ever had been before or could be afterward! Jedediah was swiftly consuming his whole world, and Octavius would have it no other way except that he yearned, with all his might and soul, to be able to tell him how he really felt.

Jed found his breath at last. "Let's go give that dino a chase!" he exclaimed and boldly grinned at his love. He slipped into their car before he could say or do anything else to give himself away.

"Yes, let's," Octavius breathed, trembling inside from just the way his beloved Jedediah had looked and smiled at him. {Let's spend the rest of our lives together! I love you!}

{I love you!} Jed unknowingly echoed his sweet and wonderful love's thoughts as he waited for him in the car, and the moment Octavius was in, he set off with him, zooming toward their future and hoping the night would never end. He knew it would eventually, but even when it did, though he could not dare to hope to slumber with the man he loved, the next night would bring them together again. He'd spend all of tomorrow night with his beloved, as well, and the night after that and the night after that and so on for all eternity. Grinning from ear to ear, Jed let out an excited whoop that sprung Octavius' smile to life. They'd be together forever, even if neither of the little men dared to profess their true feelings to each other, and both could scarcely wait to gloriously spend all their future together, loving each other from afar but always being near and the dearest of friends!

**The End**


End file.
